Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead

A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

"The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

Good for them! This will likely save the town's people a ton over time, assuming the municipal fiber charges operational fees + a tiny bit to the users, instead of profit based charges that Comcast would charge.

A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

"The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

"The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

I sure hope it works out for them though.

Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

"The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

I sure hope it works out for them though.

Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

"The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

I sure hope it works out for them though.

Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

$79 for Gigabit, not $200 for 100Mb/s or whatever with caps that Comcast does. My family in Houston pays hundreds and gets flaky service and can't even download Steam games at Christmas without paying penalty fees.

They might offer way cheaper for people not wanting Gigabit speeds. It's still a massive gap over Comcast. And if they got the penetration, they were paying for the construction entirely from the subscriber fees.

With Comcast, they were going to have to pay the construction on TOP of the higher subscriber fees.

I am not saying that it is not good deal to go with the municipal system, just that based on household income and the % of participation needed to keep costs down may not work out as planned.

If 10% of the possible 70% needed to keep costs lower are under $12K per year, they could afford Comcast's $10 per month but not the $99 for Gigabit. It is not stated in the article but the town would need at least 80% of the town at median income levels (to hit the 70% participation rate) to make it work without increase in fees or additional taxes.

I think it is a smart risk. Long term cost savings, potential short term cost savings, and control of their Internet. Plus having their own has a lot of potential to encourage business investment. Would only take one small business to make all of the different. Having no Internet, like today, would drive businesses away completely. Having Comcast only would do little better, no smart business would consider the location.

A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

"The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

I sure hope it works out for them though.

Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

$79 for Gigabit, not $200 for 100Mb/s or whatever with caps that Comcast does. My family in Houston pays hundreds and gets flaky service and can't even download Steam games at Christmas without paying penalty fees.

They might offer way cheaper for people not wanting Gigabit speeds. It's still a massive gap over Comcast. And if they got the penetration, they were paying for the construction entirely from the subscriber fees.

I don't like Comcast but we never have issues like that. Ours is $85 a month for 200 down. It's been very very reliable.

A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

"The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

I sure hope it works out for them though.

Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

$79 for Gigabit, not $200 for 100Mb/s or whatever with caps that Comcast does. My family in Houston pays hundreds and gets flaky service and can't even download Steam games at Christmas without paying penalty fees.

They might offer way cheaper for people not wanting Gigabit speeds. It's still a massive gap over Comcast. And if they got the penetration, they were paying for the construction entirely from the subscriber fees.

I don't like Comcast but we never have issues like that. Ours is $85 a month for 200 down. It's been very very reliable.

I deal with it mostly in Houston and Atlanta. Atlanta has been expensive, but no caps, but totally unreliable (up to ten outages a week.) In Houston it's been expensive, heavily capped, and slow.

A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

"The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

I sure hope it works out for them though.

Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

$79 for Gigabit, not $200 for 100Mb/s or whatever with caps that Comcast does. My family in Houston pays hundreds and gets flaky service and can't even download Steam games at Christmas without paying penalty fees.

They might offer way cheaper for people not wanting Gigabit speeds. It's still a massive gap over Comcast. And if they got the penetration, they were paying for the construction entirely from the subscriber fees.

I don't like Comcast but we never have issues like that. Ours is $85 a month for 200 down. It's been very very reliable.

Where I'm at, you pay $49 for ATT DSL 7.5 down (that is it) or $90 to Spectrum for 100Mb down.

I am in a suburb in OH but I live on a dead end street of a main street. 400 yards away ATT Fiber Uverse with 10/100 for $79. They won't run down my street at all.

make a deal with someone close by to install to their premise and use Ubiquiti gear to send it to your house.

That would be nice wouldn't. Just need to cut down some dense 100' Oak and Maple trees too.

Although, I could use another friend.

zero line of sight at all?

Correct. I just don't know if I could put up a 30' pole on their home and mine to get a line of sight.

Trust me, it is really f***ing annoying around here. The only solution is to move but that won't happen anytime soon.

ATT and DirectTV came around recently and I seen my neighbors switch over. Then they realized how crappy ATT DSL was and how the Dish's hard a hard time getting a signal through the trees on a windy day. Needless to say, all 8 of them switched back to Spectrum.